When it comes to having fun on a bike, most cyclists would rank riding inside on the trainer somewhere between bonking 20 miles from home and getting hit by a semi. But riding inside doesn’t have to be torture: The key is to adopt a get-on, ­get-off attitude and build more intensity into your workouts so you can spend less time ­pedaling to nowhere. Here are some simple guidelines for making the most of your rec-room sweat sessions.

Be Consistent
If an athlete wants to main­tain fitness over the winter, I recommend he or she ride four times a week and build intervals into three of those sessions. That might work out to two midweek rides on a trainer and two weekend rides. If two won’t fit into your schedule, you could do a program with interval workouts on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and (if road conditions are good) an outdoor group ride or long endurance ride on Saturday.

Go Hard, Not Long
Indoor training is all about working at the right intensities without wasting time idly pedaling. Some of the workouts that follow are tough, but you can complete them during a trainer session of just 60 to 90 minutes.

Then Go Harder
You might be riding three or four times a week with a bunch of hard efforts, but if you don’t incrementally increase the workload, all you’ll do is burn calories. That’s not a bad thing, but if your goal is to emerge from the basement a fitter rider, you need to increase time at intensity, starting first by focusing on endurance-building aerobic intervals (tempo), then on harder workouts that will raise your maximum sustainable pace (steady state, climbing repeat) and boost your top-end speed (power intervals).

Below, you’ll find an eight-week plan that uses a winter event as an incentive. Click here for descriptions of each workout in the chart (including the CTS Field Test).

Your Winter Workouts
Twice a week, do the recommended interval sessions (see chart) as part of a 60- to 90-minute ride. Your third ride of the week should include a long tempo interval during the first three weeks, and three sets of 10-minute steady-state or climbing-repeat intervals during weeks four through eight. On the fourth day, do a long ride or group ride outside, if weather permits.

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

Week 4

Week 5

Week 6

Week 7

Week 8

Workout 1

CTS
Field
Test—to
gauge
your
fitness
and set
intensity
goals
for each
workout.

The Carmichael Training Systems Field Test
The CTS field test consists of two eight-minute time-trial efforts separated by 10 minutes of easy spinning for recovery. If you’re riding outside, try to complete both efforts on the same course and from the same starting point. Spend the first 30 to 45 seconds getting up to speed, then settle into the highest intensity you can maintain for the full eight minutes. Do your best to keep your cadence at or above 90 rpm. For each effort, record average heart rate and/or power, distance covered, and average cadence. Then, use the higher of the two average heart rates to calculate your ideal training intensities, as directed in the workout descriptions below.

NOTE: Your field-test heart rate is not the same as your lab-measured lactate threshold heart rate, so the calculations based on this heart rate are specific to this field test.

WORKOUT DESCRIPTIONS

Fast Pedal
This workout should be performed on a relatively flat section of road. The gearing should be light, with low pedal resistance. Begin slowly and increase your pedal speed, starting with around 15 or 16 pedal revolutions per 10-second count. This equates to a cadence of 90 to 96 RPM. While staying in the saddle, increase your pedal speed, keeping your hips smooth with no rocking. Concentrate on pulling through the bottom of the pedal stroke and over the top. After one minute, you should be maintaining 18 to 20 pedal revolutions per 10-second count, or a cadence of 108 to 120 RPM. Your heart rate will climb while doing this workout, but don’t use it to judge your training intensity.RPE: 7HR: N/APower: N/A

Tempo
Tempo is an excellent workout for developing aerobic power and endurance. The intensity is well below lactate threshold, but hard enough so that you are generating a significant amount of lactate and forcing your body to buffer and process it. The intervals are long (15 minutes at a minimum, and they can last as long as two hours for pros), and you’ll want your gearing to be relatively large, with a goal of having your cadence come down to about 70 to 75 RPM. This helps increase pedal resistance and strengthen leg muscles. Also, be sure and try to stay in the saddle when you hit hills during your tempo workouts.RPE: 6HR: 88–91% of highest Field test averagePower: 81–85% of highest Field test average

Steady State
These intervals are great for increasing a cyclist’s maximum sustainable power because the intensity is below lactate threshold but relatively close to it. As you accumulate time at this intensity, you are forcing your body to deal with a lot of lactate for a relatively prolonged period of time. These intervals are best performed on relatively flat roads and small rolling hills. If you end up doing them on a sustained climb, you should really bump the intensity up to climbing-repeat range, which reflects the grade’s added contribution to your effort. Do your best to complete these intervals without interruptions from stoplights, etc. and maintain a cadence of 85 to 95 RPM. In this case, maintaining the training zone intensity is the most important factor, not pedal cadence. Steady state intervals are meant to be slightly below your individual time trial pace, so don’t make the mistake of riding at your time-trial pace during the Steady state intervals. Recovery time between Steady state intervals is typically about half the length of the interval itself.RPE: 7HR: 92–94% of highest Field test averagePower: 86–90% of highest Field test average

Climbing Repeats
This workout should be performed on a road with a long, steady climb. The training intensity is designed to be similar to that of a steady-state interval but reflect the additional workload necessary to ride uphill. The intensity is just below your lactate threshold power and/or heart rate and it’s critical that you maintain this intensity for the length of the CR. Pedal cadence for CR intervals while climbing should be 70 to 85 RPM. Maintaining the training intensity is the most important factor, not pedal cadence. It is very important to avoid interruptions while doing these intervals. Recovery time between intervals is typically about half the length of the interval itself.RPE: 8HR: 95–97% of highest Field test averagePower: 95–100% of highest Field test average

Over-Unders
Over-under intervals are a more advanced form of steady-state intervals. The “under” intensity is your steady-state range, and the “over” intensity is your climbing-repeat range. By alternating between these two intensity levels during a sustained interval, you develop the ability to handle changes in pace. This workout can be performed on a flat road, rolling hills or a sustained climb that’s relatively gradual (3 to 6% grade). Your gearing should be moderate and pedal cadence high (100 RPM or higher) if you’re riding on flat ground or rolling hills. Pedal cadence should be above 85 RPM if you’re on a gradual climb. To complete the interval, bring your intensity up to your steady-state range over the first 45 to 60 seconds. Maintain this intensity for the prescribed “under” time and then increase your intensity to your “over” intensity for the prescribed time. At the end of this “over” time, return to your “under” intensity range and continue riding at this effort level until it’s once again time to return to your “over” intensity. Continue alternating this way until the end of the interval. Over-under intervals always end with a period at “over” intensity. Recovery periods between intervals are typically about half the length of the work interval. Note: A more advanced version of this interval would alternate between steady-state and power-interval (see below) intensities instead of steady-state and climbing-repeat intensities.RPE: 9HR: 92–94% of highest field test average (under) alternating with 95–97% (over)Power: 86–90% of highest field test average (under) alternating with 95–100% (over)

Power Intervals
These intervals are maximal efforts and can be performed on any terrain except sustained descents. Your gearing should be moderate so you can maintain a relatively high pedal cadence (100 RPM or higher). Ideally, these efforts should look like flat plateaus when you view your power files. Take the first 30 to 45 seconds to gradually bring your power up and then hold on for the rest of the interval. The point here is to accumulate as much time as possible at a relatively constant and extremely high output. The rest periods between power intervals are purposely too short to provide complete recovery, and completing subsequent intervals in a partially recovered state is a key part of what makes these efforts effective. Typically, recovery times are equal to the interval work time, which is sometimes referred to as a 1:1 work-to-recovery ratio.RPE: 10HR: 100% of highest field test average–maxPower: 110% of highest field test average (some intervals may be higher than this)